Jimmy Brings column, race for NSW Origin No.1 skip James Tedesco, Dylan Edwards, Blaize Talagi Eels contract, Wayne Bennett Souths

The race to wear the NSW State of Origin number 1 jersey will end in a printed photograph revealed.

The smart money circulating for much of the first nine weeks of the season sees Blues captain James Tedesco facing the biggest challenge of his career at full-back.

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Teddy is an all-time champion and the Blues’ first-choice captain who has played 22 consecutive matches for NSW since his debut in 2016.

But there is a view that Panthers champion Dylan Edwards has put together an irresistible case over the past 18 months with plenty of good judges pushing for No.1 Penrith.

Manly’s champion fullback Tommy Trbojevic has also been flying this season and there is no doubt that Turbo could also dominate in his preferred fullback position at Origin level.

Which means the toughest job for new Blues coach Michael Maguire will center on whether he backs Tedesco as NSW captain or makes a hardline decision.

There are still three more NRL regulation rounds to play before the Blues announce their team for Origin I.

As it stands now, we think joint Dally M Medal leader Edwards is ahead by a nose.

AGENT TWIST IN THE SITUATION OF THE YOUNG GUN OF ANGUILLAS

The Parramatta Eels have a life on their hands regarding the situation surrounding young full-back Blaize Talagi.

The Eels have offered Talagi an upgrade and extension for next year and beyond, but for unknown reasons, the local Parramatta junior has exercised an option to test his value on the open market.

If you freeze it, Talagi’s agent is none other than the previously twice-banned Isaac Moses, who has a reputation as one of the best agitators and questioners in the business.

What becomes even more interesting is that Talagi’s younger brother and sister are also part of the Eels system.

Moses also acts as agent for four current NRL coaches: Manly’s Anthony Seibold, St George Illawarra’s Shane Flanagan, Newcastle’s Adam O’Brien and North Queensland’s Todd Payten.

The last thing Eels coach Brad Arthur needs as he struggles to win games is another distraction, like a local junior testing the open market.

Especially when Talagi will line up at fullback in Friday night’s must-win game against the Broncos and Reece Walsh.

Just last month, the Eels lost another homegrown talent in Ethan Sanders when the halfback agreed to join the Raiders next year.

The Eels are hopeful star halfback Mitch Moses, Isaac’s cousin, will return in round 12 against South Sydney.

THE PANTHERS’ ILLUSIONS ABOUT LEAKS

In our experience of the great game of rugby league, guessing games about who said what and who in the media are fraught with danger.

However, NRL clubs like to try to safeguard information as if it were the keys to the nuclear launch codes.

This week, the Penrith Panthers went to great lengths to try to muzzle the sensitive details that emerged from the triple premierships in the wake of the club’s quest for David Fifita to go public.

Players and staff were told in no uncertain terms that too much information is being leaked into the public domain and everything needs to be tightened.

All we’ll say is good luck. It’s rugby league.

THE LATEST IN WAYNE TO THE SOUTH

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have hatched a plan to offer super-coach Wayne Bennett a three-year, $3 million deal to fix the league’s pride.

Forget Magic Round meetings to negotiate the fine print of deal terms.

Bennett and South Sydney co-owner Russell Crowe have agreed that Wayne will take over next season – that happened a couple of weeks ago.

The Bunnies initially intend to bring Bennett back into the Heffron Park fold on a three-year deal, but have also devised a broader plan to try to convince Bennett to continue coaching until he turns 79.

That’s where the five-year contract for Bennett comes into play. He remains as clever as ever with a one-liner and what motivates elite footballers, the move would mean Bennett could become the first coach in rugby league history to coach more than 1,000 games.

He currently has 922 games coached in the NRL, even if Wayne only coaches for another three years beyond this season he will still surpass the 1000 game mark.

Tonight, Bennett will face his arch-nemesis Anthony Seibold when the Dolphins, who are currently fourth, take on the Sea Eagles, who are currently fifth.

Ding, ding, ding.